France names builder of first commercial-scale floating wind farm

Pennavel, a company created by the Belgian Elicio and the German BayWa re, is the winner of the call for tenders for the project, announced the Ministry of the Economy, noting that "this is the first commercial floating wind farm in the world to be assigned a purchase price".

Unlike "placed" wind turbines, whose mast is planted in the ground at sea, "floating" wind turbines, which at this stage are mainly pilot sites, allow them to be installed in deep areas.

This 250 megawatt (MW) project, scheduled to be commissioned in 2031 19 km west of Belle-Ile-en-Mer and 33 km from Quiberon, will cover the electricity needs of around 450.000 inhabitants. . The park will include a maximum of 13 wind turbines over 45 km2.

The price proposed by this consortium, a new entrant in marine wind power in France, amounts to 86,45 euros/MWh, an offer considered very competitive by the government, which will guarantee this purchase price for 20 years.

“With a purchase price allocated to 86,45 EUR/MWh, the offshore wind sector no longer has to prove its competitiveness,” underlined the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire. For the ministry, "this price confirms France's positioning as a leader in the development of this technology" of floating.

In France, three pilot farms (between 25 and 30 MW each) are under construction in the Mediterranean, which should be commissioned between 2024 and 2025.

Vast ambitions

According to the professional association WindEurope, the continent, a pioneer in offshore wind power, today has four active floating sites, two in Scotland, one in Norway, a fourth in Portugal. But their total capacity remains 4 MW, and none has been the subject of calls for tenders or commercial auctions.

However, major projects are planned, notably in Great Britain which has launched an auction cycle for 4.500 MW of floating wind power, "showing the massive potential" of this technology, indicates WindEurope.

Elsewhere, floating is less advanced but China and Japan have projects, indicates the Global Wind Energy Council (Gwec).

Floating wind power arouses a lot of ambition and industrial research because it opens the prospect of establishments further from the coast and in areas where, as in the Mediterranean, the sea floor is sinking rapidly.

For South Brittany, the call for tenders was launched in May 2021 by the State, following a public debate held at the end of 2020.

According to the ministry, the offers were evaluated on criteria such as the recycling of wind turbines, the contribution to a biodiversity protection fund (at least 20 million euros promised by Pennavel), the rate of use of SMEs for construction and exploitation (at least 10%) and participatory investment (for at least 10 million euros).

"The State will be particularly attentive to the proper implementation of this first floating commercial project in the world which should generate approximately 4,5 million hours of work during the construction phase and more than 30 permanent jobs during the operation phase at title of maintenance", he adds.

The manufacturers will have to further refine the choice of floating technology, Aldrik de Fombelle, the project director, explained to AFP, "confident" and emphasizing the offshore experience of the parties to the consortium.

The sector also welcomed this “decisive step for this sector of the future”.

“This South Brittany call for tenders represents a major opportunity for France to position itself as a leader in the field of floating wind power. It is a world first,” rejoiced Anne-Catherine de Tourtier, president of the professional association France Renouvelables, which calls for catching up with the French delay in offshore wind power.

Recognizing a "delay in ignition", the government, through the voice of ministers Bruno Le Maire and Roland Lescure, reaffirmed at the beginning of May its support for this energy, with the objective of moving from a production of 1,5 GW to 2024 to 18 GW in 2035 and 45 GW in 2050 (i.e. around fifty parks, installed and floating).